UPrising Youth Council Presents to Community Leaders

UPrising’s Youth Leadership Council was invited to the Little Village Youth Safety Network quarterly meeting yesterday to present on their project for the 22nd Ward’s Participatory Budget. Diana, Joshua, Reynaldo, and Kimberly represented the Youth Council, which allows the youth in the community to have a voice and advocate for change.

Youth Council presenting their PB22 campaign  to community leaders in Little Village
Youth Council presenting their PB22 campaign to community leaders in Little Village

The Youth Council worked on the campaign for more than three months; planning how we could have better lighting outdoors for safety. They organized themselves to make sure everyone in the council had different tasks. They also made sure that this was a participatory campaign, interviewing youth, leading activities about youth organizing and participating in weekly meetings with different people in the community.

Youth Council leads an activity about youth organizing
Youth Council leads an activity about youth organizing

The youth worked on a video to show on the PB 22 Expo at LVLHS. Lastly, after all the organizing and outreach, the youth started door knocking around the community to get people to vote for their community project. At the meeting, some of the community leaders at the table asked the Youth Council what their next objective is. Kimberly responded, “We are going to keep making change in the community!” Diana also added, “After all the accomplishments, now we are confident we can make change in the community.”

Youth Council members voting for PB22 community projects
Youth Council members voting for PB22 community projects

Building Blocks of Peace 7/24/2014

Block Party

Thousands of Little Village residents of all walks of life, abilities, and experiences came together today Thursday July 24th, 2014 to celebrate our Little Village community on Universidad Popular’s (UP) block of 28th st. between Ridgeway and Hamlin Ave. Building Blocks of Peace, as the series of block parties is called, strives to inform and educate community residents of the importance of keeping an active and vibrant community. Focused on street closures to open up spaces that give kids and adults supervised spaces to enjoy outdoor activities such as sports, games, and dancing UP has joined with the City of Chicago and the Department of Public Health to host some of this year’s “PlayStreets” planned in various communities.

Zumba

Our participants, youth, community members, and facilitators were directly involved in the planning, coordinating, and implementing of this block party. In the span of four hours neighbors had a chance to participate in healthy activities such as yoga, zumba, and dancing; youth and children had the opportunity to play soccer, basketball, practice their riding skills in a bike rodeo, paint to their heart’s desires, enjoy cooking, face painting, and an exhilarating game of water balloon toss.

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Aside from the countless number of fun and healthy activities, we also hosted a teach-in celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act’s 24th anniversary. Differently abled community members shared their life stories and spoke about the issues facing their community in Chicago. Several of the speakers mentioned to us that this was the first time they had the opportunity to speak in a public event about the issues that mattered to them. It is especially this type of space that Universidad Popular seeks to create in all of its events and programs: an inclusive space where residents can teach and learn from each other while discussing and creating solutions and projects that matter to them collectively and cooperatively. 

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Feria del Mole History

 

The 9th Feria del Mole

 

History

The first Feria del Mole was organized by a group of 15 to 20 women who were partaking part in Universidad Popular’s Women’s Empowerment Program. These women, ages 25-60, were coming together once a week to discuss their lives, families, hopes, dreams, and support each other. At the time, Olivia Flores-Godinez was leading the group, and the main theme was “self-esteem development.” Olivia kept hearing disempowering remarks from these participants, all Mexican immigrants and mainly homemakers: “I’m not good at anything,” or “I’m not smart,” or “I don’t have any skills – how will I get a job or help my children do their homework?”

One day, Olivia asked these women if they any were good at cooking. All of them responded with a resounding “YES!” The dish that they most prided themselves on was their mole. Sharing this conversation with the staff a few days later, one of them, and one coworker mentioned a very popular “feria del mole” festival in a pueblo near Mexico City. Perhaps UP participants could put together their own “feria.” Thus was born the Feria del Mole in Chicago, an opportunity for women (and some men!) in the community to put their culinary skills on display at this community festival, with. Thus far, at least, five of the Feria del Mole winners have started their own home businesses, catering private parties and events with their famous mole. The event has also become an annual fundraiser for Universidad Popular’s community empowerment programs for youth, adults, and seniors.

What is mole?

The world “mole” comes from the Aztec word “molli,” meaning concoction, stew or sauce. To the uninformed, mole is a Mexican sauce. In Mexico, mole is a hundred dishes in a hundred homes: It varies not only from region to region but also from town to town. There are many kinds of mole: Poblano, originating from the state of Puebla, is the most famous of the three. The mole poblano is a complex dish carefully woven together using dried chiles, nuts, seeds, vegetables, spices and chocolate (preferably ground and toasted cacao beans). While mole is a traditional dish prepared to celebrate special occasions, it is also served as the main course of many family dinners.

Feria del Mole 2014: Food, music, fun, and prizes   

Universidad Popular will celebrate its 8th annual “Feria del Mole” on September 27, 2014.   The Feria will take place at Little Village High School 3120 S. Kostner Avenue. Over 3,000 people from all over Chicago will come to participate in this fair at least 40 women and men compete with their home-made recipes to be awarded the “Best Mole in Chicago.” Awards are based on majority votes. There will also be cash prizes: $1000 for “First Best Mole,” $650 for “Second Best Mole,” for the “third Best Mole,” $450 and $300 for “Best Table Decoration” and $250 for “Best Traditional Dress.”

With admission, guests receive ballots to taste as many moles as they like, and vote for their favorite.  Besides the mole-tasting, the event includes booths promoting event sponsors, music and performances by local artists. Celebrity judges will vote on “best dressed” and “best table decoration.”

Become a Sponsor

We are currently seeking sponsors for La Feria del Mole 2014. This is an excellent opportunity to market your company and/or product to 3,000 Hispanic consumers. As a sponsor, you will receive:

  • Recognition as Presenting Sponsor on printed invitations and online
  • Media recognition in PSAs (public service announcements)
  • Company logo and name inclusion on all Feria del Mole promotional materials
  • Prominent logo placement and branding on stage
  • Recognition as Presenting Sponsor in all press releases and media alerts
  • Prominent logo inclusion on UP website page promoting the Feria del Mole (with reciprocal link)
  • Logo inclusion and recognition in e-blasts promoting the Feria del Mole
  • Reserved booth for promotional giveaways and product sampling

 

 

Contact us today to discuss the sponsorship: 
Phone: 773-733-5055  

Visit: www.universidadpopular.us/feriadelmole

UPrising Bike Club

UPrising’s bike club takes little village youth out on their bikes to explore their city and neighborhood. Throughout the year, youth learn basic bicycle maintenance, responsible and safe street riding, and how to lead by following your group.

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With each bike outing, the youth have learned the history of their neighborhood parks, and the amazing stories of the boulevard park system and the neighborhoods that surround them.By biking together through these areas, youth are expanding their own mental maps of their community and city, while at the same time breaking stereotypes they’ve been led to believe about other parts of the city that surround us. While exploring the beauty that surrounds us, youth also remain active and become enchanted with a healthy, fun activity that can take them to wonderful places.     IMAG1968_1     IMAG1982